Umarete Kawari
by Aya14
Summary: Something bad happens to Kagome, and no one is there to save her but Kikyo. One-shot. *ITALICS FIXED 3/8*


Author's notes: A little (or not-so-little) fic I wrote on whim after seeing episode 87. Episode 98 helped, too. The timeframe is in the large empty space in the timeline between when Kagome gets sick in the anime and the Shichinintai's introduction. It probably occurs before episode 98.

Many thanks to the wonderful people who reviewed this on the Inuyasha-List ML, and special thanks to JaymiCat for pointing out a silly error of mine in the original of this fic.

Disclaimer: No, I don't own Inuyasha. That honor belongs to the one and only Takahashi Rumiko, as well as Sunrise and Yomiuri TV and the rest. Oh, and Viz, but they don't deserve to. This is a work of fandom with no profit being made off it. So don't sue. Please?

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Kagome sighed as she hopped over the rim of the well, morning sun shining down on her. She'd had a brief break from the endless routine of Naraku- and shard-hunting in the form of yet another mock exam, but the test had been canceled and so she was heading back two days early. _I wonder if everyone will even be here. They were investigating that rumor of a shard to the east, weren't they?_

She smiled. This would be nice, now, to get a chance to spend time in clean, beautiful Musashi's Domain without having to run off after rumors every five seconds. Two days of rest would do her a world of good.

Hefting her backpack after her, she started off towards the village, deeply engrossed in thoughts of what she was going to do for two days. Ideas kept hitting her. Go swimming? Help the village people with the crops? Try to make friends with the village girls her age? Get ahead on her schoolwork? She sighed happily, rather hoping that Inuyasha and the others would come back late.

Perhaps it was because she was so deep in such thoughts of rest and relaxation that she didn't notice the youki until it was too late. She suddenly felt the presence in the back of her head, just in time to dodge the first swing of a twenty-four-foot-tall oni with bright red skin and protruding horns.

"Kyah!" She cried, dropping her backpack and running for the village. She hadn't brought her bow this time, and she knew that she couldn't kill the oni without some sort of focus for her powers.

The oni seemed to be very quick for its size, and Kagome soon had to veer off the path towards the village and go straight through the forest, where she had more of an advantage in terms of speed because she was so much smaller and could better fit between the trees more easily. _Oh man oh man oh man - where's Inuyasha when I need him?!_

Right now she would have kissed the hanyou for being there. Not that she'd mind kissing him anyway, but -

Pain, sharp and sudden, lanced through her left shoulder to spread throughout the rest of her body as the demon's claws made fleeting contact with her body. With a gasp, she dropped to the ground, avoiding the oni's next strike by a hairsbreath. The ogre's claws went right into a nearby tree, and the beast rather stupidly stared at its hand, tugging a few times to see if it would come out easily. Kagome took the opportunity to start running again, trying her best to ignore the painful wound in her shoulder.

_On the bright side, it doesn't even have that much brute strength. Inuyasha would have sliced through the tree like butter._

She bit back a sob._ Inuyasha - where are you? Help me… you always do!_

One rational level of her mind made a solemn vow to practice like hell and never let a bow out of her sight for the rest of her life if she survived.

Some instinct made her drop to the ground again, and the oni's claws, which had been heading for her torso, just clipped the top of her head. She struggled back, trying to see through the blood covering her eyes, but the demon still gouged her side deeply. It hurt…

_Shit shit shit shit shit - She hadn't believed, until now, that she was really in so much danger. People always saved her, whenever these things happened. Kouga or Sango or Miroku or Shippou even but usually -_

_Inuyasha… wouldn't it be funny, after Naraku and Tsubaki and Sesshoumaru and every other major youkai in Nihon couldn't kill me, a minor oni who's only motive is hunger got me?_

The pain was almost overwhelming now, and she knew that the wound in her side, at least, was serious. She frantically wiped the blood out of her eyes, just in time to see the oni's huge claw grab her around the waist. _It's going to eat me._

She glared into the ogre's dull yellow eyes. "No way. No way in hell I'm going to die like this. I have responsibilities, you know!"

The oni ignored her, opening its mouth wide. Kagome gulped, and wished for a bow with all her heart. _But more than bows work -_

As the beast lowered her towards its mouth, she grabbed a branch from a nearby tree and yanked it off, desperation lending her strength. Then, concentrating all her holy powers on it as she did with her bow and arrows, she swung it at the oni's lumpen head.

It had all the effect she could have wished for and more. The demon's body melted away like butter under a blowtorch. After making sure that it was dead, she tried to inspect her wounds, but the blood loss was getting to her.

_It would, of course, be even funnier if I died of my wounds after killing the oni._

With that thought, she lapsed against a nearby tree and let the welcome darkness claim her.

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Kikyo walked through the forest quickly, with her usual grace and composure. She had sensed a moderately strong jaki in here somewhere, and to protect the people of the village she was currently staying at, she had to exterminate it before it grew stronger or, unlikely though that was, found a Shikon no kakera.

Suddenly, the jaki, which had been right ahead of her, vanished without a trace. Kikyo blinked. There were a few things that could have happened: it could have used an ability to mask its aura, it could have teleported, both of which would be unlikely considering how the jaki had felt, or most likely, it was dead.

_I wonder who killed it. Probably just a bunch of samurai, looking for glory. I had better look anyway, in case there are any injured._

She continued the way she was going, and soon smelled human blood. She almost smiled. It made her oddly happy to do the traditional miko duties, such as tending the wounded - and burying the dead.

But her contentment vanished as she stepped into the clearing where the evil aura had last been. The corpse of a large oni, obviously the source of the jaki, lay in the center of the clearing, its head melted off down to the neck. And lying unconscious and bleeding heavily against a large maple tree was Kagome.

Kikyo froze for a moment. It was obvious what had happened. The girl had been walking through the woods for some reason, without Inuyasha or the others to help her, and had been attacked by the oni. She had fled, and somehow made it here. Then she had killed the beast but been badly injured in the fight.

The dead priestess knelt by her reincarnation. _She's badly injured. She won't last long without help._

Part of her mind immediately screamed that this was an opportunity. She could just leave Kagome here. The girl would die and no one would ever know…

Kikyo stared at the face for a moment, the face so like her own. Though the girl's features were now lined with pain, they normally were graced with a smile, Kikyo knew, for the girl had a happy life. A boy who loved and protected her, dozens of friends, probably kind, caring parents too… the urge to leave the girl almost hurt. A wound each in the side, shoulder, and scalp… she didn't have a chance. Some part of Kikyo idly noted that the cut to the head hadn't even taken off that much of the girl's hair. _She's lucky even in the smallest things…_

But Kikyo was a miko, after all, and it had been their duty since time immemorial to care for the wounds of the injured, no matter what. And in any case, something in her didn't want this girl to die. _Perhaps…___

She gently picked the girl up and headed towards the village.

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Kagome awoke slowly, feeling the dull, throbbing pain of her wounds and the sensation of fresh, clean cloth on her skin. Memory came back to her with a start, and she abruptly sat up in bed.

"So you're awake."

The voice of the person she was perhaps most afraid of in the world came from behind her, and she turned sharply to find the dead priestess sitting against the wall of the house they were in. "Kikyo!"

"Try not to move around so sharply. You'll reopen your wounds."

Kagome glanced down at herself, and realized with a shock that she was wearing traditional miko garb that was a little too big for her. _Kikyo's clothes…? She realized that her all her wounds had been bandaged. "Kikyo, you… you helped me?"_

"Don't sound so shocked." The miko moved to kneel beside the living girl. "Inuyasha would literally have killed me if I had not."

"And I wouldn't bet on that," Kagome said, staring sedately down at the blankets covering her, away from her previous incarnation. "You did a good job on the bandages, though."

"Thank you. By the way, I've told the villagers here that you're my younger sister, to help account for our unusual likeness and our shared miko powers. Please don't contradict them. I don't want the truth to come out." Kikyo reached out a hand, gently pushing Kagome to the bed. "You should sleep now. You lost a lot of blood."

"I'm not tired," Kagome replied, trying her best not to sound like a spoiled child. Part of her mind faintly registered the fact that the Shikon no kakera were safe in their vial in around her neck. "Really, I'm not."

"Hmm," Kikyo looked at her for a moment. "What were you doing so far from Inuyasha and your friends, in any case? Surely you know how dangerous it is to wander around alone, especially without a bow."

"I was coming back from home," The living girl sighed. "Inuyasha and the others were going to investigate rumors of a shard to the east, I think. They weren't expecting me."

"I see. No rumors of Naraku, then?"

"Not a one. He might as well have disappeared off the face of the earth."

"We should be so lucky."

"Yeah."

There was a moment of rather uncomfortable silence, in which the two wondered what to say to each other. They were both teenage girls, really, but still from five hundred and fifty years apart. In any case, talking about clothes or makeup would have seemed inane, and talking about boys… the only boy either of them was interested in was the same one. Not exactly a good topic for light conversation.

"So. This village, is it nice?" The question was stupid, Kagome knew, but anything was better than nothing.

Kikyo blinked. "Yes, quite nice. I like it here. The children are adorable, and there are no real problems. Quite a change from…"

"From everyday life, for the likes of us?" Kagome finished, softly.

"Exactly."

"You know, I've always thought that those of us… those of us who pursue Naraku… that there was something similar about all of us." Kagome half-smiled. "It's silly, really, because of course we're all so different… demons and humans and hanyou and kitsune and… um…"

"Shibito?" Kikyo asked rather dryly. "I'm not offended by it. But yes, I see what you mean. We all hate him so single-mindedly… for so many different reasons. I actually only know mine and Inuyasha's, but…"

"Sango-chan hates him for killing her family and enslaving her little brother. Miroku-sama… for him it's not even vengeance, though that's part of it. He'll die within a few years if we don't kill Naraku. Kouga-kun wants vengeance for the wolf tribe that was wiped out… Sesshoumaru, naturally, just wants to repay him for the embarrassment he caused him. And for kidnapping the girl he has with him, though that's sort of even less than the embarrassment to him, I guess. Sesshoumaru is… a very proud person." Kagome said, with the tone of someone who would rather say something a little worse but was restrained by politeness.

"He is… Inuyasha's older brother, I gather?"

"Yeah, they… don't get along too well."

"As I might imagine. Few full demons take kindly to hanyou."

Having exhausted the available subjects, they lapsed into uncomfortable silence again. "Well, in any case, you really ought to get some sleep. I'll have one of the village girls look in on you in an hour or so, and don't hesitate to yell if you need anything. I'm going to gather herbs with some of the children."

Kagome actually was quite tired by now. "Okay. Have fun."

_She's actually quite a likeable girl. I wonder if I ever was like that… Kikyo smiled rather sardonically as she walked out of the hut. _Of course not.___ Different lives, even if identical… the same, in fact… soul._

A swarm of small children enveloped her, and she headed off to a comfortable afternoon of educational fun.

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When Kagome awoke again, it was to the sound of hushed voices. As she groaned a little and started to sit up, the voices became understandable.

"Kei-kun no baka! You woke her up!" A small girl, it sounded like.

Kagome opened her eyes to find herself ringed by five small children, probably ranging in ages from eight to three.

'Kei-kun', a boy of about six, replied. "No I didn't!"

"She's pwetty." The smallest child, a tiny girl with big brown eyes, spoke. "I dink she's pwettier than Kikyo-sama."

Kagome turned pink. 'Kei-kun' spoke up again. "Naw, I think Kikyo-sama's prettier. Kikyo-sama's hair is neater."

Kagome strongly resisted the urge to tell the child that that was because Kikyo was dead and if you were dead _of course_ your hair was neat. If you weren't then you had to use shampoo and brush it regularly, and after being chased by an oni _of course_ her hair wasn't neat. Another boy, this one about seven, added his two cents. "Well, _I_ think they look just alike."

Now the oldest child, a girl with black hair in a neat braid, spoke with an air of authority. "That's because they're sisters, Amano. Are you feeling better, Kagome-sama? Do you need anything?"

Kagome smiled at the girl. "No, thank you. And you don't need to call me Kagome-sama. I'm not exactly a miko, not yet anyway."

"But Kikyo-sama said you purified the oni." Another girl piped up. She looked like she was four or five. "Only miko can do that."

"Well, I haven't really had enough training. Not like Kikyo, anyway." Kagome said. It wasn't like she could tell them that in her home world, miko didn't even technically exist the way they did in the Sengoku Jidai. The children were probably confused enough as it is by their resident miko suddenly acquiring a sister.

The children seemed to accept this, and Kagome spoke again. "Now, what are all your names? As you know, I'm Kagome."

The oldest girl spoke again. "I'm Rei. Keisuke's my little brother." She clapped 'Kei-kun' on the back.

The seven-year-old boy was next. "I'm Amano. I got a big sister an' a brother, but they're with Kikyo-sama picking herbs right now."

"I'm Yuki," said the five-year-old girl. "Aya's my imouto." She pointed at the smallest child, who was sucking her thumb and staring pensively at Kagome.

"You got pwetty eyes," Aya informed Kagome, with all the self-assurance of a very small child. "Dey're wike Kikyo-sama's but bigger."

"Why thank you, Aya-chan," Kagome liked the children already. They were really just like modern children, but a little dirtier and in rougher clothing.

"Kikyo-sama said that if you can, you should see if you can get up." Rei said. "'Cause she said you'll have to go soon, and you've gotta get your strength back."

Amano looked at Kagome with huge black eyes. "Do ya really gotta go soon, Kagome-sama? I mean, you're Kikyo-sama's sister and all. So don't ya gotta stay with her?"

"Kikyo and I… we actually see each other quite often." _Which is true enough. "We have many… um… common interests." _Inuyasha and killing Naraku, but those are really very major._ "And we certainly can always just see each other in… uh… dreams." __Quite true.__ My nightmares always involve either her or trigonometry. Or both. God, I'll never forget the one where she was testing me on the Pythagorean Theorem…_

"With miko powers?" Keisuke asked, obviously curious. Then, without waiting for an answer, he continued. "I wanna be a houshi when I grow up. Then I can kill evil creatures and stuff like Kikyo-sama does. Do you know any houshi?"

"Yes, actually. He's one of my best friends. My best friend is in love with him, as a matter of fact." Kagome smiled. _It's true, really…_

"Really? Are they gonna get married when they grow up?" Yuki asked, eyes wide.

"Well, they already are grown up, Yuki-chan. I think they'll be getting married once Miroku-sama - the houshi - gets a cure for a curse he suffers from."

"A curse?" The children echoed in unison.

"Did a youkai put it on him?" Amano asked.

"Is he gonna kill the youkai?" Keisuke seemed to like the idea of killing youkai.

"Is he gonna die?" Aya still had her thumb in her mouth.

"Oh. Well, yes, a youkai put the curse on him, and the youkai probably will die eventually, because all the strongest demons and humans that I know want the youkai dead, and…" Kagome sighed. "I hope he doesn't die. It would really be horrible if he did."

"Oh."

Rei spoke again. "So d'ya think you can get up, Kagome-sama?"

"Don't call me Kagome-sama," Kagome said automatically as she privately evaluated her wounds. They were serious, but nothing a day's rest or so wouldn't heal. She rather suspected that Kikyo had been healing her with magic. "Yes, I think I can." Pushing back the covers, she looked around, seeing what she was looking for: a bow and quiver of arrows in one corner.

"Amano-kun, could you get me that bow, please?" She asked.

The little boy ran to get it for her. "Here you go, Kagome-sama."

Kagome decided to ignore the use of 'sama'. "Thank you." Stringing the quiver on her back, and using the bow as a crutch to get up, she slowly walked out the door in the unfamiliar miko garb.

It was a normal, peaceful little village, with the standard small huts and houses scattered around the shrine and miko's house. People were walking purposefully but unhurriedly around, and they all stopped to greet Kagome.

"Good afternoon, Kagome-sama. I trust you're feeling better now?" A girl about Kagome's age, carrying a baby on her back and a basket full of laundry in her arms, greeted her, gathering around with several of the other village women.

"Yes, thank you. Is Kikyo gone?" She asked, remembering that the priestess had said that she was going to look for herbs with some more of the children.

"Yes, she went with some of the older children to gather herbs." An old woman carrying a bundle of clothing and leaning on a cane said. "Are you hungry at all, my lady?"

"No, thank you. Can I help you all with anything?" Kagome asked. "Like your work, or something?"

They all seemed quite shocked at the idea that a miko help them with mundane chores, and insisted that she go and sit down under a tree as the children buzzed around her. The sun was shining down on her, warming her to the bone, and the moss beneath the tree was almost as soft as a modern cushion. It wasn't very long before she fell asleep again.

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Inuyasha sighed as he walked down the dusty road. The rumors of a shard had turned out to be nothing, despite the presence of an old, powerful water youkai they'd had to defeat, and he, Sango, Miroku, and Shippou were all worn out. Then his nose caught a scent… but that couldn't be…

"Oi, Sango," He said, trying to sound as bored as possible. "What time did Kagome say she would be back?"

Sango shrugged. "Tomorrow, I think it was. Why? Don't you remember?"

"'Course I do," The hanyou replied, frowning a little. "But it's weird. I smell her now, and the scent's real recent. Plus it smells like an oni… and…" He sniffed the air. "And like blood… Kagome's blood."

Everyone digested that for a second or so. Miroku put two and two together first. "Oh shit."

No one noticed his regression to delinquent mode, because Shippou had burst out in agitated tears and Sango was looking panicky. Inuyasha narrowed his eyes. "Sango! Miroku! You stay here, I'm going after her!" He didn't give anyone any time to protest this, just leapt off into the forest.

He ran at full speed, jumping occasionally. Before long he had reached a spot very near the well. And then he saw it: Kagome's backpack, and a hole through the thick trees that could only have been caused by a very large oni.

Instantly, Inuyasha set off towards where Kagome's scent-trail intersected with the oni's. He didn't go far before he smelled her blood, and found a frighteningly large patch of the crimson liquid, dried by now, staining the ground. A nearby tree lay collapsed, clear marks of claws in it.

_Kagome - He started to run, following the trail of dried blood and slashed-through trees. _There's so much blood - what the hell fucking happened to my Kagome?__

He didn't even stop to berate himself for the 'my', just kept on speeding through the trees. Then his sensitive nose caught another two scents: the stink of decaying ogre, and an almost-fragrance, almost-stench - the smell, to him, of memories and emotional agony. Kikyo's scent.

_Kikyo?__ What the hell -_

He burst into a clearing, to find blood - Kagome's blood - splattered all over the clearing, and the body of a very large ogre. It looked like its head had been melted away. _Did Kagome do that? Or did Kikyo?_

"Kuso," He snarled, fear eating at his stomach. "What the fuck happened here?"

Kagome's blood had pooled at the base of a tree, and it was there that her scent came together with Kikyo's. Then the smells of the two miko, one living and one dead, headed off together through the woods.

Without even stopping to think, Inuyasha followed the trail.

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Kikyo sat inside her tiny house, sedately mending a torn haori. Kagome lay on a futon, still sleeping - the dead priestess had brought her inside after she'd returned.

Her mind, however, wasn't on her sewing. Nor was it on anything in particular. In fact, Kikyo was almost asleep, though she was long past the need for such things. She was drifting in a dream-world made up of both memories and fantasies, despite the fact that she kept on stitching up the hole in the garment with neat, even strokes.

That was why she didn't notice the youki until the shouts erupted from outside, familiar though the aura was.

"A demon!"

"Kyaah!"

"Somebody fetch Kikyo-sama, hayaku!"

"What the hell are you bastards getting so fucking worked up for?" An all-too-familiar voice snarled. "I just wanna get Kagome! She's okay, right? She better be or I'll - I'll - I'll fuckin' tear the village apart!"

Kikyo sighed and walked outside, grabbing her bow just in case. "Inuyasha."

Just as she'd expected, the hanyou was glaring at a cluster of the village men, who were looking rather fearfully back at him, brandishing spears and bows. The village women were all staring from the safety of the houses.

Inuyasha seemed to calm down a bit at the sight of the dead priestess. "Kikyo. Where's Kagome? I can smell her."

"She's in my house." Despite herself, she added. "She's fine. She's sleeping now, but I suppose you could take her now if you wanted."

"K-Kikyo-sama," One of the villagers looked anxiously at first her, then at the hanyou. "What's going on here?"

"Nothing that is any of your concern. Inuyasha, come with me."

"Yeah." Shooting another murderous glare at the villagers, the young half-demon added, "And if any of you assholes eavesdrop or anything, I swear I'll fuckin' tear you apart."

The moment Inuyasha saw Kagome sleeping peacefully on her futon, he half-ran to her side. Kikyo suppressed any sign of her conflicting emotions as the hanyou clasped the schoolgirl tightly in his arms.

"You'll reopen her wounds if you hold her that tight, Inuyasha." She felt obliged to say, after a minute or so had passed and he hadn't let go.

"Yeah," He said, but only lowered the sleeping girl a little, not relinquishing his hold on her. "Kikyo, how bad was she hurt?"

"She got a scrape on her scalp, a moderately serious wound on her shoulder, and a rather nasty one on her side, not to mention assorted scratches and bruises. She lost quite a lot of blood, so try not to let her strain herself for the next few days."

He nodded, and then pulled back the haori Kagome wore to reveal her bandaged shoulder, revealing quite a lot of smooth white neck and bust. Kikyo noticed he was blushing a little, and was quite surprised when he leaned forwards to smell the wound. To anyone else, it would have looked like a very incriminating position. After a sniff or two, he sighed, pulling up the shirt and laying the girl back down onto the futon. "She'll be okay, right?"

"Hopefully."

"Kikyo, you…" Inuyasha turned to look at the miko. "Thanks for taking care of her."

"It was my duty," She replied, almost coldly. The way Inuyasha had thanked her… it had been like a man simply thanking a doctor for taking care of his wife. _I'm overreacting._

"Yeah. Err… Kikyo, how're you doing, anyway?" The hanyou left Kagome's side to walk over to the miko. He had a familiar expression of unsurety and nervousness, like any normal teenage boy caught between two girls. "I mean, you okay and all?"

She looked at him, smiling a little. He was still hers, almost… "I'm fine, Inuyasha. Did you find that shard you were looking for?"

"No… uh, how'd you find out about that?"

"Kagome told me." She did smile now. "She's quite a nice girl, really."

"Yeah, isn't she? She's really great, when she's not having one of her fucking temper tantrums," He looked over at the sleeping girl. "I mean, all I gotta do is try to protect her from that yase ookami and she gets all agitated and all."

"Yase ookami?" Kikyo frowned. "I don't believe I know him."

"Kouga, you know." The hanyou looked rather annoyed to even think of the person in question. "Stupid bastard, always fuckin' going after Kagome."

"You mean… he's in love with her?" Her envy of Kagome went up another notch. Two boys in love with her? Of course, Kikyo had two of them, too, but one of them was Naraku, who didn't count for anything.

"Yeah," Then he realized he was treading on thin ice here. "I mean, yeah. She… keh. I just don't like it when he tries to hold her hands an' all. She's… she's…"

"She's yours?" Kikyo couldn't keep the sharp edge from her voice.

He stared at her, and blinked once or twice. "Umm… well, I dunno… we are sorta in a… you know, relationship and all… but all we ever do is hug. And yeah… I mean, she is sorta mine… but I don't know… you're mine too, Kikyo."

She was rather touched at this, and rather shocked and hurt as well. "Two-timer. You're a two-timer. Has anyone ever told you that?"

He glared at the wooden floor, sulkily. "Only a hundred times, dammit."

The conversation was getting rather dangerous, so Kikyo decided to change the topic. "I'll be leaving this village soon. I've been here too long already. In any case, have you heard any rumors of Naraku?"

"No," He snarled. "It's like that bastard just fuckin' dropped off the face of the Earth. An' Kouga doesn't know where he is, and neither does Sesshoumaru, and nobody can get a single fuckin' clue. It just drives me insane, dammit."

"That's too bad. Well, he'll turn up. You should leave now, anyway. Your friends will be worrying."

"Oh. Yeah," He looked at Kagome again, an almost soft expression on his handsome face. "They don't even know that she's still alive… anyhow, I'll get going. See you later, Kikyo."

"We'll meet again soon, Inuyasha," Kikyo said, and couldn't restrain a hurried, "And don't forget! Your life belongs to me."

"Aa," He had gently picked up Kagome in his arms, and was facing away from the dead priestess. "I won't forget, Kikyo."

He walked out the door. Kikyo opened the flap just in time to see him jump up into the forest, cradling the sleeping girl against his chest. She closed her eyes against the sight.

"Kikyo-sama!" The villagers ran up in a frightened mass. "Kikyo-sama, the hanyou took Kagome-sama!"

"I know," She sighed. "Their place is with each other, after all. At least for now…"

"But, Kikyo-sama, what's going on?" Someone asked. "Why are you letting a demon take your younger sister?"

"Because he will protect her, and because they have duties to perform. Now, please do not concern yourselves with this. It is simply a matter between the three of us, and another."

"But Kikyo-sama - " Another person objected. "Surely, you can - "

"No buts, please," She replied firmly. "Now, I'm sure you all must finish with the fields now." It was a polite but strong hint that the discussion was over.

With much grumbling, the crowd complied. Kikyo smiled a little as she went back into her tiny house. _Inuyasha… you have such an effect on normal people. They're absolutely terrified of you._

_Oh, Inuyasha. Recalling their conversation, her mood turned dark. _You love her… don't you? And she most certainly loves you.__

_"I dunno… you're mine too, Kikyo."_

He had seemed quite sincere…_ And you just may love me, as well. Heh. What a two-timer. What an absolute two-timer._

_And yet…__ I don't mind so much as I should. Kagome does deserve him, after all…_

She sighed. _I'll leave this village tomorrow. Go somewhere else. Maybe I'll get lucky and find Naraku, scare the bastard a little._

_And maybe I'll see you again, Inuyasha. That's something to hope for, for me at least._

_I don't know… do you hope to see me? Because I hope that you hope to see me._

She snorted at the thought, and then sighed. _I love you, Inuyasha. Always and forever…_

_Even if you will never be mine again.___

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Japanese Terminology:

Umarete kawari: Reincarnation.

Youki: Youkai ki, or spiritual energy. Youki can be either an aura that you sense, like a kehai, or a sort of energy weapon, like Inuyasha has to cut to use Bakuryuuha.

Youkai: New, aren't you? A demon or miscellaneous non-human with mystical powers, usually evil though not always.

Oni: An ogre. Characterized by the horns.

Nihon: Japan.

Jaki: An evil aura, different from a youki in that a youki isn't necessarily evil and a jaki isn't a weapon, ever.

Shikon no kakera: Really new, aren't you? A piece of the Shikon no Tama, the Jewel of Four Souls.

Samurai: Warriors owing allegiance to a particular lord. If they don't have a lord, they're ronin.

Miko: In real life they're the assistants to Shinto priests, but in IY they're the priestesses, guardians of the populace, and healers. Kikyo, Kaede, and the red and blue girls are all miko. Tsubaki is a kuro miko, or dark miko, which means she's corrupted. Kagome is technically a miko in that she has enormous spiritual power, but she doesn't have the training or wear the clothes. Basically, if you're a girl with spiritual powers, you're probably a miko.

Hanyou: Half-demon, for those of you who don't read fanfiction that often. Inuyasha is _the hanyou, but Shiori, Naraku, and Jinenji all are too._

Kitsune: A fox demon or spirit; they tend to be mischievous rather than malevolent like most youkai. Shippou is a case in point.

Shibito: Literally a "dead person", sort of more means someone who has been brought back to life. A zombie. There are a bunch of them in IY, though Kikyo was the first: Kohaku and the Shichinintai are also shibito.

Kei-kun no baka: Stupid Kei-kun! for those of you who don't watch Ranma.

Imouto: Younger sister.

Houshi: Low-ranking Buddhist priest or monk. Miroku is a case in point, though they're supposed to be a little more… virtuous… than he is.

Haori: A sort of shirt-like thing they used to wear in ancient and feudal Japan, like what Inuyasha and Kikyo wear.

Futon: A mattress and bedding, what Japanese people traditionally sleep on.

Hayaku: Quickly.

Aa: A masculine way to say yes or yeah.


End file.
